Hot probate court race takes spotlight
YOUNGSTOWN — Judge Mark Belinky, the incumbent Democrat, maintains Mahoning County Probate Court is a fair, user-friendly and efficiently run operation under his knowledgeable leadership.
But his Republican challenger, Judge Scott Hunter, who is now a judge with the county’s area courts, says Belinky is a partisan political figure with an inefficient “business as usual” approach.
In Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, Judge Maureen A. Sweeney, seeking re-election, faces a challenge from Atty. David Gerchak, who is in private law practice.
Judge Sweeney was appointed to the bench in July 2004 and elected to her seat in November of that year.
The probate court race is hotly contested.
“My opponent has a reputation as a highly partisan polarizing individual,” due to his past political activities, Judge Hunter said, adding that Judge Belinky has run for several political offices.
“I’m not known as a partisan politician,” said Judge Hunter, who has served as Canfield’s mayor and city council president.
Having been a lawyer for more than 20 years and a judge for more than nine years, Judge Hunter said he has had “significantly more judicial experience” than Judge Belinky, who has been a judge for only 10 months.
“You want judges with a wide range of experience,” said Judge Hunter, adding that his time on the county court bench has given him a good background to become a probate judge.
“I don’t see the need to have four magistrates in that court,” Judge Hunter said of the probate court.
However, Judge Belinky countered that: “The court doesn’t operate in a partisan manner.” He called any allegation that he is a partisan judge “almost childish.”
Anyone who says he hasn’t made meaningful changes in the probate court is misinformed, doesn’t practice law regularly there or is making the charge for political purposes, Judge Belinky said.
He said he had 28 years of extensive experience in the specialized and technical field of probate law before becoming probate judge and noted that he was the only Democratic primary candidate rated highly qualified by the Mahoning County Bar Association.
Gov. Ted Strickland appointed Belinky to replace Judge Timothy Maloney, who retired. Judge Belinky is running to retain his seat.
He said he has streamlined court rules by reducing them from 80 pages to 15 pages, thereby increasing the number of lawyers practicing in the court; created a guardianship program for special needs children; and instituted criminal background checks for guardians of society’s most vulnerable citizens. “We’ve changed the culture of the court,” he said.
With 12 full-time and three part-time staff members, Mahoning County Probate Court is a much leaner operation than the 23-member Trumbull County Probate Court staff, which handles many fewer cases, Judge Belinky said.
He said his chief magistrate won’t be replaced if he retires as expected at the end of this year.
“I’ve kept the costs down. It’s running efficiently,” Judge Belinky said of his court.
Among other things, probate court handles administration of the estates of the deceased; guardianships of minors and incompetents, adoptions, mental health commitments and marriage licenses.
Court docket management is a major issue in the common pleas court.
As one of five judges of the general division of the county’s common pleas court, Judge Sweeney hears major criminal and civil cases.
On her criminal docket, she has presided over murder, rape, kidnapping and drug trafficking cases. On her civil docket, she has presided over medical and legal malpractice, personal injury and racial discrimination matters.
As Poland Village solicitor for three years, she prosecuted misdemeanor criminal cases before becoming a judge.
Before she was appointed to the bench, her private law practice included criminal, civil domestic relations and juvenile cases.
Judge Sweeney maintains that the major issue in this campaign is management of the court docket. Since she became a judge, she said she has reduced the age and number of pending criminal cases.
Other significant issues facing the court are the high number of foreclosures being filed, the civil litigation docket and jail overcrowding, she said.
With his legal and employment experiences, Gerchak said he would bring unique qualifications to the office. He has been a Teamster and a United Auto Workers union member and has 101‚Ñ2 years of experience as a lawyer, all of it in private law practice, where he has extensive criminal and civil experience.
The “foreclosure mess” is likely the most urgent matter facing the court, he said, adding that mortgage companies must be brought to the table and urged to mediate.